Good morning, saw this on " News24 " websight this morning. Dirk this is what we are talking about all the time. Green Aggressive, alien crayfish invades Free State dams 2018-08-16 05:18 An invasive species of crayfish is taking over aquatic systems in the Free State and it is a mystery how they ended up there, according to the Department of Environmental Affairs.
Can't imagine any of our local LPs will be able to pay " up to R10 million and/or a prison sentence upon conviction from the DEA''
This specific crayfish, if I remember correctly was legally imported with permission by DAFF for farming purposes in the Eastern Cape. I think it is already listed in the book on aquatic biodiversity in South Africa that we discussed a while back on this forum. It is actually a cheap shot to say that aquarists spread it there. I rather think it was moved from the Eastern Cape by someone. It is far larger than something that you would normally keep in an aquarium. I must check in the book that I have at home in order to confirm this. What this also tells us is that if the same happens with the shrimps that so many people are keeping and that are not legal, the fine would then also R10 million if I interpret this as correct......
Hi Rodger and everyone else, Firstly, I checked my book called "Freshwater Life" and I had remembered this incorrectly. This specific species has not been imported for aquaculture but it was apparently caught back in the 1990's in the Olifants River. So I am wrong it was not imported for aquaculture. There are other species that were imported into Swaziland and the Eastern Cape for aquaculture purposes. It is highly invasive and poses a threat to anything that occurs in freshwater dams, rivers etc. Then, I have now phoned the official responsible for finding them (I don't need to mention names nor contact details, these are available on the web), and he/she does confirm that aquarists/petshops are directly responsible, so Roger, you were right! After a tip-off about the fact that they were in the dam he/she went there with the necessary seine nets and caught them and assessed the situation. Those specimens were then sent for identification to someone at the University of the Free State. Apparently, there was a local petshop who then complained to the caretaker/staff at the dam "that someone was stealing their crayfish" and that they had released them there so that they could harvest them and that nobody except them was allowed to catch them. It is quite hard to believe this, but that is apparently the case. The whole matter has now been handed over to the green scorpions, and I think some LPS there in the Free State are going to be closing their doors soon..... I will watch the path of this matter with interest, because it is indicative of the problem that we have at the moment that every wholesaler apparently thinks he/she have the right to import any livestock or plants into the country regardless of regulations...... Kind regards, Dirk
Coincidently, I received a call from the one author during the week after some plants , so I'll get his take on things over the week- end...
Well, if it is any consolation, these are the crawfish consumed en masse here in the US. They apparently taste very good but I'm not convinced... I'm a picky eater.
I posted the same link on TASA and made my view very clear regarding this point there. Being responsible with what you keep whether it is fish, plants or inverts. Even the legal ones can stuff up any ecosystem in the end. The stone thrown in the water has ripples that reach further than you think.
Don't see the link on TASA and they are the ones that would be responsible for this sort of thing....
So discovered this moss over the weekend in a stream of water close to where i stay. some form of wild Fissidens definitely a cold water species as the stream must have been well under 15 degrees as id't by prof dirk.
If there is anybody on here from potchefstreem go to the dam. You will see tons of moss where everybody catch bass on the bridge, O wonder what moss it is. I havent been there in years though